Asia Pasific Congress on Sports Technology 2009

Dear Colleague/Researcher;

After an exiting 3rd APCST 2007 in Singapore, where many of you contributed to the Congress’s success, we would like to invite you onbehalf of Congress Organising Committee to submit abstracts(subsequently papers) for the 4th Asia Pacific Congress on Sports Technology (APCST 2009) which will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA from21-23 September 2009.

You might have received the call for papers(ATTACHED) repeatedly; however, I would like to draw your kind attention to:

1) Abstract deadline which has been extended until December 15, 2008

2) Congress fees which have been reduced to USD 750 (and 500 forstudents) thanks to good negotiation outcomes from the publisher and

3)Young Investigators / Students Awards Competition(http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=8kveij56bqlbz), which had a hugesuccess in Singapore.

Please submit your abstract(s) to: http://us.mc503.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=apcst2009@wsu.edu and ignore my message if you have already submitted abstract.If you want to participate in the Young Investigators / Students Award, please inform the Organising Conference Chair Prof. Lloyd Smith (http://us.mc503.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=lvsmith@wsu.edu), and indicate your name, the title of the abstract, and the level of your project (Undergraduate or Post graduate).

The Congress will be held at:

Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa 2424 Kalakaua Avenue,Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

A copy of APCST2009 brochure is attached for your kind consideration.For further information, please feel free to contact Dr Firoz Alam on+61 3 99256103 or via e-mail: http://us.mc503.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=firoz.alam@rmit.edu.au or Prof Lloyd Smithvia e-mail: lvsmith@wsu.edu

National Karate Exponents did it again!!

For many years, victory on European soil have deserted us; but things are slowly changing with our karate exponents banging in the results now.

Read more on our latest success story http://www.thestar.com.my/sports/story.asp?file=/2008/9/9/sports/1978367&sec=sports

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/Sport/2344559/Article/index_html

p.s. To my dear friend Ari,

You proved it again, relying solely on the strength in depth that you have created. Keep up the good job.

KOI Karate World Cup

Malaysian Karate exponents once again returned home with a fine performance in KOI World Cup held in Italy earlier this month. Malaysia won a record 5 Gold medals (3 from kumite and 2 from kata). R.Puvaneswaran showed early promise of his coaching ability by guiding a string of young National athletes (Saharuddin, Mohd Hatta and Jeyaseelan) to clinch the coveted men's Team Kumite Gold by beating the Netherlands.

When contacted, Arivalagan (National Karate Head Coach) conveyed his satisfaction on the overall performance of the team and confirmed the ever growing influence of our exponents in European Circuits; and having achieved this without the likes of Asian Champions Lim Yoke Wai, G.Yamini and Vasantha Marial adds more weight to our preparation in clinching the much eluded Gold medal in upcoming World Karate Federation Championship.

RedScience hereby wishes our National Karate Exponents 'Best of Luck' for the upcoming World Karate Championships in Japan.

"Let the spirit in you burn for all to see"

Field Hockey on Natural Grass– A need for revival

The stick work, skills, deception, flair and beauty of field hockey that lures many young kids during the 70s’ especially in the sub continent of South Asia and South East Asia is very much fresh, even though it has been nearly 20 years since the inception of artificial turf into modern hockey.

It was the ‘Indian dribbles’, ‘Argentinean reverse’ that made me and hundreds of Andersonians, “YES” hundreds - of form one students to join our famous hockey club under the tutelage of Mr. Pritam Singh and Cikgu Shamsuri whom fueled the already burning desire to ‘whack the ball if not the man’ on the field. Well that certainly did not stop us from playing football, handball, rugby, athletics and still come home with half a dosens of A’s in public examinations to satisfy our parents.

Coming back to hockey; those stuff that we do in the grass field daily, is the soul that made us love this game so very much. Add that with the performance of Minarwan, Perry Khoo, Kaliswaran, Saiful Zaini, Shankar, Calvin at National level and the likes of Dhanaraj Pillay at International stage, one need not be a rocket scientist to figure why its’ such a beauty; even though we were occasionally hammered by Australians and other Asian giants, they were our unsung heroes with their stick work and flair.

Seeing the modern form of ‘western influenced’ hockey, there’s not much happiness or joy even if victory is ours’ for taking. The ‘soul’ is missing; lack of stick work, flair, deceptions and creativity in the game. As a sports scientist and a performance analyst, I do understand the very condition of artificial turf and the speed that ball is moved in it; does not permit a display of skill and stick work that were evident in the much slower natural grass. The Astroturf certainly suited the style of many European and East Asian countries.

Yet again, if tennis could boast of clay, court and grass champions; Football with its conventional 11’s, beach and futsal; why can’t hockey with turf and grass. I’m sure a grass hockey World Championship will have more teams in it than the World Netball Championships. The mechanics of movement, tactics, techniques and even stick engineering will be different between field and turf hockey.

If it can generate the dying culture of sports in Malaysia, why then not revive it than adhering to the whim and fancy of western influenced hockey. Turf hockey certainly adds steel to their existing sporting culture, with lack of natural grass and seasons. We instead have to brunt the cost of building hockey turfs, watering it (think of all the waste), maintenance, resurfacing it every five years and playing accessories that goes with it. Hmmm….Wonder who is getting rich?

Contract staffs!!

Need to be said that nearly 70% of National Sports Council staffs are contract staffs, ISN in the other hand have 5% of their staffs as permanent employees.

RedScience in coming articles' will detail the difficulties faced by existing contract staffs, loopsided contract for locals, and review on both the employees and employers perspective in achieving excellence in sports.

An incredible love story has come out of China recently and managed to touch the world.

It is a story of a man and an older woman who ran off to live and love each other in peace for over half a century. The 70-year-old Chinese man who hand-carved over 6,000 stairs up a mountain for his 80-year-old wife has passed away in the cave which has been the couple's home for the last 50 years.

Over 50 years ago, Liu Guojiang a 19 year-old boy, fell in love with a 29 year-old widowed mother named Xu Chaoqin. In a twist worthy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, friends and relatives criticized the relationship because of the age difference and the fact that Xu already had children. At that time, it was unacceptable and immoral for a young man to love an older woman. To avoid the market gossip and the scorn of their communities, the couple decided to elope and lived in a cave in Jiangjin County in Southern ChongQing Municipality.

In the beginning, life was harsh as hey had nothing, no electricity or even food. They had to eat grass and roots they found in the mountain, and Liu made a kerosene lamp that they used to light up their lives. Xu felt that she had tied Liu down and repeatedly asked him, 'Are you regretful? Liu always replied, 'As long as we are industrious, life will improve.' In the second year of living in the mountain, Liu began and continued for over 50 years, to hand-carve the steps so that his wife could get down the mountain easily.

Half a century later in 2001, a group of adventurers were exploring the forest and were surprised to find the elderly couple and the over 6,000 hand-carved steps. Liu MingSheng, one of their seven children said, 'My parents loved each other so much, they have lived in seclusion for over 50 years and never been apart a single day. He hand carved more than 6,000 steps over the years for my mother's convenience, although she doesn't go down the mountain that much.'

The couple had lived in peace for over 50 years until last week Liu, now 72 years, returned from his daily farm work and collapsed. Xu sat and prayed with her husband as he passed away in her arms. So in love with Xu, was Liu that no one was able to release the grip he had on his wife's hand even after he had passed away. 'You promised me you'll take care of me, you'll always be with me until the day I died, now you left before me, how am I going to live without you?' Xu spent days softly repeating this sentence and touching her husband's black coffin with tears rolling down her cheeks.

In 2006, their story became one of the top 10 love stories from China, collected by the Chinese Women Weekly. The local government has decided to preserve the love ladder and the place they lived as a museum, so this love story can live forever.

Raptor 4

Motion Analysis Corporation today announced the introduction of the Raptor-4 high-performance mocap camera. It features massive on-board throughput processing power for real-time processing of up to 5,000 markers at 600,000 markers per second, making it the industry's most powerful video processing camera. The Raptor-4 automatically measures focus and adjusts brightness for optimal performance. As with other MAC digital cameras, the Raptor-4 is field upgradable via email, compatible with other MAC digital cameras and supported with their new generation Cortex software.

"The limitation of most mocap cameras is their limited bandwidth and throughput capacity. At four mega-pixel resolution, the Raptor-4 processes in real-time full grey scale images, image analysis and centroid calculations for 5000 markers. Most motion capture cameras are limited to 100-200 markers." said Shel Fung, Senior VP of Engineering.

"The Raptor-4 provides for large volume data capture while requiring only small markers. In today's large capture volume environment, one-quarter inch markers provide enough light reflection for robust real time tracking. The reflectivity of the markers drops off as the square of the distance from the camera. Higher resolution cameras, brighter ringlights or smaller markers will not solve this limitation. The real limitation has always been camera throughput." Mr. Fung added.

"Our new Cortex real time tracking software leads the industry by at least four years. Users can now do high resolution facial capture with the performer forty feet from the camera. The Raptor-4 camera design eliminates the last barrier to large volume high marker count real-time motion capture. " said Tom Whitaker, CEO of Motion Analysis Corporation. buttons that can be conveniently placed on the interface. It also utilizes drag-and-drop editing, syntax highlighting, embedded function documentation, shared network folders for scripts and automatic startup scripts.

"Our existing EVaRT real time tracking software leads the industry by at least two years. Introduction of the new Cortex real time performance now puts us four years ahead of the industry" said Tom Whitaker, CEO of Motion Analysis Corporation.

Source www.motionanalysis.com

Motion Analysis Cortex 1.0 replaces EvART

Motion Analysis announces the release of Cortex 1.0, the industry’s first mocap tracking software tailored to both a 32-bit and a 64-bit operating system for use with high-throughput multi-processor environments. Cortex replaces the company’s current core software, EVaRT and includes support for the new Raptor class of high-performance digital cameras. This next generation of 3D real-time motion capture software comprises tracking, editing, scripting and modeling functions in a single integrated package.

"Cortex is built on Microsoft's .NET Framework", said Shel Fung, Senior VP of Engineering. "The .NET framework maximizes the productivity for our programmers, which translates into more features delivered at a faster rate to our customers. Due to the success and emulation of EVaRT's ease-of use and customer familiarity, Cortex, by design, maintains a strong resemblance to the successful EVaRT user interface and functionality.", Mr. Fung added.

For biomechanics customers, Cortex features new kinematics and kinetics features, including user selectable bone axis and Euler angle sequence, linear and rotational velocities and accelerations for each segment, and linear and rotational acceleration of the center of mass.

For video production and pre-viz customers, Cortex features the new camera tracking module, CamTrack, which automates the process of aligning the virtual scene coordinates with those of the production studio. Laborious surveying of the production studio is not required. The production studio camera is tracked along with the performers to provide a live stream of animation viewed precisely from the position of the production studio camera. The data, including the principal point information, can be simultaneously streamed to animation software to provide the same special effect.

Cortex runs under the Windows Vista and WinXP operating systems. Many of the tabular menu controls found in EVaRT have been replaced with more modern icons. The icon tool tray can be re-configured to the user's preference, resulting in easier navigation and a 30% increase in screen display. Other new Cortex features include a new and improved QuickFiles (file management) feature, wireless data triggering, a 2D zoom function and improved 3D calibration accuracy reporting. Backwards compatibility with existing data files and projects is maintained to ensure existing workflows.

Cortex's installation is Windows registry independent, allowing cleaner side-by-side execution of different versions of Cortex. Cortex's internal plug-in architecture has been simplified through templates, making it easier for third party developers to create plug-ins to Cortex using free Microsoft Visual Studio express versions. Existing external software programs and plug-ins that use the MAC exclusive simultaneous-connection SDK2 environment will run without changes under Cortex.Cortex contains a new embedded "Single Touch" Sky scripting interface with access to hundreds of pre-programmed scripts that can be quickly and easily modified for custom operation. Sky now has user definable

source www.motionanalysis.com

Petua Tok Guru "Buat baik berpada-pada, buat jahat jangan sekali'

Well! never in a zillllllionnnnn years, I thought I'll be involved with professional whippers from the prison department; but as planned by 'higher authorities' I finally got my chance. Guess what! only the top whippers with near perfect accuracy, consistency and force behind the whip are recruited.

As analysed in our infra-red three dimensional system, caning speed varies from the lowest recorded 185kmh - maximum 325kmh. It takes a person a minimum 2-3 weeks to able to properly pass motion after the exercise.

So the moral of the story, please avoid doing anything stupid that will set an appointment with my professional friends back in prison. If you by virtues of stupidity 'tersangkut' juga, I can recommend friends with the meanest whipping ability for your comfort :p

Gait Analysis in Sporting Population - A Genuine Research Need!

Human walking is several million years old. A clear visual evidence of this is the foot prints found in Laetoli in Africa. The foot prints originate presumably from our direct ancestor "Lucy", who is termed “australopithecus aferensis". The footprints were preserved because the humanoids walked in mud shortly after burst of a volcano. (Steven R. Leigh, et al 2001).

The human being is the only species, which places the heel on the ground before the forefoot, it is therefore believed that evolution has formed the human foot to a highly specialized structure and not a degenerated hand as often suggested. Human walking seems to be optimized in a way that makes it the most economical pattern of locomotion. It should be stressed that human walking is a highly sophisticated skill and unique to our species. If a person cannot walk, it is a severe handicap today and in the past it would have been deadly. Evaluating the physical health of a person or the success of neurology, orthopaedics and rehabilitation intervention of a patient may therefore very well be evaluated by gait analysis. (Christopher M.Powers, et al 1999).

Gait analysis is fast becoming an answer to past complexity of detailed analysis of human movements. Gait analysis has wide spread applications for ergonomics, artificial limb fitting, footwear, neuromuscular rehabilitation, orthopedics and other aspects of engineering applications that requires an in-depth knowledge of human movement. As per reason there are many researches on gait today with up to 5000 published articles in this decade alone.

Besides studies on joints, muscles activation and deactivation there are studies in; age (Ugo H, et al 2003) , gender (Kozlowski L, 1977), (S.H. Cho, et al 2003) , race (Chen W.L, et al 2001), geography (Saud Al-Obaidi, 2003), walking speed (Li Li, et al 2005), Osteoarthritis (Kaufman K.R, et al 2001), ACL deficiency (Wen Liu, et al 1999), patellofemoral pain (Powers C.M, et al 1999), and routine activities (Bergmann G, et al 2001). However, there are few if any published studies that compare gait characteristics for athletes of different sporting codes.

While there are many studies focus on understanding various facet of gait, there are not many researches on gait especially on those of sports and sports persons. The identification of differences in lower limb extremity kinematics movement between genders in athletes during an unexpected perturbation (Hurd W.J, et al 2004), is one of the references on gait when it comes to sports.

Other studies of different sporting group and its affect on lower limb kinematics are done on jump analysis, (Kevin R.Ford, et al 2003). To date there is no documentation of gait analysis among different sporting groups and adaptation of gait with age in Malaysia.

As an advocate of gait analysis and its benefits in Malaysia, I hope this article would encourage people to conduct more studies on selected Malaysian sporting population.

SPORTS ANALYST/ OFFICER - FOOTBALL/SOCCER

SPORTS ANALYST/OFFICER - FOOTBALL/SOCCER
(RM 2000 -Kuala Lumpur)

Responsibilities:

• Responsible to listen to commentators during football live/replay games and key in all the information needed into the system.
• Other ad hoc tasks as assigned by supervisor.

Requirements:

• Candidate must possess at least SPM/"O" Level, Diploma or Degree in Business Studies/Administration/Management or equivalent.
• Applicants should be Malaysian citizens or hold relevant residence status.
• Candidates must possess a sharp listening and excellent written skills in English.
  Able to understand European slangs is definitely an advantage.
• Must be a team player and prepared to work in odd hours (at night)
  Fresh graduates/Entry level applicants are encouraged to apply.
• 20 Full-Time positions available.
• Please send your resume in MS Word format to myrecruit2@tbcareers.com (Att:Syeeda)
  TBC HR Consulting Sdn BhdSuite 11-6, Level 11, Wisma UOA II, No.21 Jalan Pinang, 50450 Kuala LumpurMain: 03-2164 2188Fax: 03-2164 2588

Website: http://www.tbcareers.com

'Love is the Itch of the Heart that can't be scratched'

Petua Tok Guru

Hi,


Its not that I’ve became insane after having a Menteri Besar from the bulan party. Only that I’ve realized recently that our great philosopher, guru and friend – Dr.Teoh Heng Teong has turned 64, and rightly so by sharing and discussing on his words of wisdom that have been passed onto us; we can really assess how damaged we really are. Hahahaha…..He’ll kill me!! Anyhow what’s life without some risk and fun?

'Love is the Itch of the Heart that can’t be scratched'
Dr.Teoh Heng Teong

I was astounded to hear it first, probably because it subconsciously answered a long lasting question on LOVE:p Hahahaha….. Then I thought what happened to the Itch after marriage? 'Probably it was medicated' – our Tok Guru would advocate….. I say ‘It started bleeding that it out sensed the Itch.” Whatever it is I leave it to the fertile imagination of readers.

University of Konstanz: International Studies in Sports Sciences

International Studies in Sports Sciences – M.A.

Student’s opportunity in Germany! Master Course in Sports Science conducted in English.


Dear Colleagues,

For most Students studying in Germany was out of question because of the foreign language German, hard to learn and not one of the world languages. From this year onwards the University of Konstanz offers a Master Course in Sports Sciences fully taught in English. So, students from around the world can experience a different environment and still can use English in class.

The M.A.-Study is qualifying students for the various scientifically-oriented professional fields of sport, sport education and sport sciences. The foundations of the M.A.-study are - besides didactical/methodical as well as sport-practical knowledge and experiences - especially the dealing with the scientific methods and themes of the subject field. The study is geared towards discussing the innovations grounded in sport sciences in regard to its actual needs and to the transfer of the scientific results to practice.The M.A.-Study is conceptualized in a way, so that the graduates of this study can mainly work in sport sciences institutions and research units or decide to receive a deepened scientific further qualification (Ph.D).

This in turn will allow them to work in scientifically oriented and characterized professions. Organization and Cost:1. The four semester study (after B.A. or B.S.) is a combination of distance learning (Semester 1 – SS 2008), residence in Konstanz (WS 2008/2009 and SS 2009), and free choice of stay (WS 2009/2010 – writing the Master thesis).2. The whole study is conducted in English.3. The study fees for one semester are € 587.70 and for the complete study € 2350.80.The study will be carried out with various didactical innovations (e.g. distance learning, team learning, e-Learning).


The goal of the overview (Introduction) courses in the first semester is to improve the probably different educational background of the students to the demanded state of knowledge. This will be done by ELearning offerings that cover extensively the different areas of sport sciences. The students are asked to work their way through the respective lessons by themselves prior to the beginning of the first semester. They can do so by using the offered self-tests dependant of their state of educational background. Similar pre-working is necessary in the course-free time prior to the beginning of the second and third semester. All this work is taken into consideration for the credit-calculation of each course. 1 Credit corresponds to a time expenditure of about 25 to 30 hours.

Now There’s Help for Students & Athletes with Attention Problems

At last, there’s an effective, success based system that combines tested teaching methods and proven technology to help students and athletes improve attention skills, increase time-ontask and reduce behavior problems. Play Attention measures brain waves and presents feedback in a video-game format. It improves student and athlete skill with attention- training techniques similar to those developed by NASA and the Air Force. Research shows this type of feedback significantly increases attention and response control.

Play Attention will generate detailed reports reflecting your child’s or athlete's progress!

How Does Play Attention Work?

Play Attention utilizes EdufeedbackTM technology. Edufeedback teaches the student/athlete to control his or her attentive state in real time. The system features a special helmet with built-in sensors that measure the brain waves associated with focus and cognitive processing. The brain waves are translated by the Play Attention Interface Unit so students/athlete can control educational video exercises through attention alone. With coaching, the student/athlete learns to maintain this focused awareness, and learns what behaviors detract from it. Gradually, students/athlete learn to transition their focused awareness to educational objectives like reading and attentive listening in class or in training and competition in sports. Each level focuses on a different educational objective, so students/athlete can learn the skills they need to succeed in the classroom or sports training. Play Attention is recommended for users ages 7 to adult whose primary difficulty is paying attention. Results can be seen in as little as 15 hours, but it takes and average of 40 to 60 hours of training before results become permanent.

Various levels of training:

Level I: Learning to Focus & Lessen Distractibility

The different activities in Play Attention’s educational protocol teach the student to sustain attention for longer periods of time. The student starts by making a bird fly or a fish swim simply by focusing on the screen.


Level II: Visual Tracking

Students who lack visual tracking have a hard time attending to a teacher moving around the classroom. In this level, the student moves a character around the screen by focusing on it. To score well, the student must maintain attentionwhile watching the screen character’s movements.

Level III: Time On-Task

Many individuals with attention difficulties cannot stay on-task for very long. In Level III, the student tries to increase time on-task while building a tower of blocks. By focusing on the blocks, the student carries them across the screen to build the tower. If the user falls offtask, the blocks stop or move backward. The student tries to complete the task within a given time parameter.

Level IV: Short-Term Memory Sequencing

To activate this exercise, the student must focus on the blocks that light in increasingly longer sequences. Using color and sound cues, the user must repeat each sequence by touching the corresponding arrow keys on the keyboard. The goal is to increase shortterm memory.

Level V: Discriminatory Processing

This level puts the student at the controls of a cyber starship. While maintaining a high level of focus, the student must deflect only the white asteroids that fly toward the ship. The student must process information while reducing impulsive strikes.

For info, purchasing or training please contact:

Mr. Mohamed Faisal Akhia

Certified Play Attention Provider & Sole Distributor SEA

SES Resources and Solutions Sdn Bhd
1.18, 1st Floor, Wisma OCM,
Jalan Hang Jebat,
50150, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel:- 03-20701932
H/P:- 0126067895
Mfa1978@gmail.com

SUKMA Happenings: The so called Physiotherapist!!

Qualified Assistant Medical Officers with post basic training in Sports Medicine

In the quest for success and attempt to provide medical services to their athletes, mostly all states engage the services of physiotherapist, assistant medical officers and first aiders. Being curious as usual I surveyed some of the venues and notice the following:

• Good service and professionalism shown by assistant medical officers whom have done their post basic training in sports medicine. They clearly understand they requirement of the game, injuries associated with it and the prevention methods specific to sports. Most of them were pro active to the need of athletes. Bravo!!!
• Non qualified physiotherapist or imposter's as I call them were also spotted. Guess what! they cant even do a figure of eight strapping. Most of them as I found cheated the state authorities on their experience and qualification. All for some $$$ during semester break. The best part is they all hail from the same University. Probably the course professional ethics and standards was lectured in Russian.
• I was gifted enough to spot another miracle of a renowned foreign athletic coach turned part time physiotherapist and masseur for gymnastic girls. Hmmm, am I wrong or the immigration department should start paying occasional visits to check on their job specification. The one million dollar question is - Why are these imported guys always flock around our gymnastic girls? Think I'm bias, 'buka mata' and check out on masseurs and physio's attached to all the gymnastic teams including 'kebangsaan'. If we might argue that they are more specialised and experienced - think again it was an athletic coach in a gymnastic setting. Where is the ethics and most of all his he/she a certified practitioner for that spesific job?

SUKMA Happenings: State Anthems

The price giving and flag raising ceremony is a bit too much for KT citizens to munch as majority of them did not bother standing up when state anthems are played. The only consolation is, they pretty much maintained the same attitude for Terengganu state anthem as well. But sepandai - pandai penyu cuba melompat the seladang state fooled them a couple of times to earn due respect with an anthem that nearly resembles the tune of 'Negaraku'.

Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity (IDEEA)

MiniSun designs and produces most sophisticated and accurate devices for human motion, physical activity (PA), posture detection, and energy expenditure (EE) measurements. Recently it introduced the Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Activity (IDEEA), the most accurate and versatile device available in the world for PA, EE, and posture detection.

IDEEA functions include:

• Records postures and body motion in free-living conditions each second for up to 72 hours


• Identifies more than 40 types of activities and postures with 98% accuracy (clinically tested on hundreds of people)


• Provides detailed information concerning the onset, duration, frequency, and intensity of these activities


• Provides in-depth analysis of daily activities


• Plays back the "movie" of these activities at various speeds for any selected time period


• Computes the amount and intensity of activities


• Calculates power, mechanical work, and energy expenditure of PA/exercises during the day or during any selected time period
  

IDEEA data accuracy has been clinically tested and proven by hundreds of subjects.

IDEEA provides the highest quality research data. It is an essential tool for researchers and clinicians in quantifying fitness/wellness, mobility, physical activity/exercise, effect of treatments, and lifestyle changes. Applications include obesity, physical activity evaluation/promotion, fitness program, orthopedic surgery, rehabilitation, attention deficit hyperactive disorders, multiple sclerosis, and osteoporosis.

Since mobility, physical activity, and exercise are such fundamental parts of human life and since there is no similar device that can perform these functions, MiniSun believes that IDEEA will provide invaluable scientific and diagnostic information and guidance to healthcare professionals, patients, and persons interested in physical performance.

Malaysia sales office and sole distributors:

SES RESOURCES AND SOLUTIONS SDN. BHD.
1.18, Tkt 1, Wisma OCM, Jalan Hang Jebat, 50150, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-20701932 Fax: 03-20709932

email: faisal@sesrcs.com


for further info on its functions and specs please visit http://www.portablegaitlab.com/

Dr.Teoh Heng Teong turns 64

Dr.Teoh Heng Teong turned 64 on 4th June 2008.


Fondly called as ‘Sir’ / ‘Doc’ and ‘Atuk’ by many, Dr.Teoh is walking his talk - that age is not a deterrent to ones quest of knowledge and continuous empowerment. Dr. Teoh is currently finishing his second PhD in Psychophysiology to add to his existing arsenal of PhD, Masters’, Degree and Diplomas’.


RedScience would like to take the opportunity to wish him

‘Happy Birthday & Many more happy returns of the day’

With a sincere plea that he continues to produce and head more and more corrupted angels like us!!!

A small celebration on the 4th of June at Kuala Terengganu

Satelite Centre - Its Development?

It has been three years since the first concept is mooted and I personally believe it is time to evaluate the impact and the performance of this concept.

Sarawak, Penang, Johor (Larkin & Bandar Penawar Sports School) are currently the only established centres' in the states; and out of these centres' Sarawak strikes out as an ideal centre to look at, as it has had solid two years to evolve and develop as a reference Centre for ISN.


So what have they achieved so far;

1. In creating awareness in the states. Has these awareness been translated into increased state budget for sports science / training methodology?
2. Are there any paradigm shift in state athletes preparation? Are they more informed and aware of what they are doing?
3. Is the centre fully equipped in delivering sports science and medicine services?
4. Are these centres' now been accepted as crucial partners in the sports development agenda by state sports councils?
5. Do these centres' have leaders who are capable and impartial in developing each and every division of sciences without favour or fear?
6. Is there a blue print for performance development which encompasses a network of Sports Council, Satellite Centre, Institute of Higher Learning, State Association and other significant agencies in the state.

Well these are half a dozen of question that's been lingering on my mind lately, so I thought it would be great that we get the ball rolling by just start answering those question in our minds. Have fun!!!!

Job Opening for Biomechanist & Physiologist in Qatar

BIOMECHANICS OFFICER (Match Analyst)

Responsibilities:

Develops and implements match (notational) analysis to Football and other ASPIRE sports
Carries out movement/match/video analysis for the ASPIRE teams/athletes
Assists in servicing and testing in Biomechanics, Physiology and Talent Identification
Assists in research projects
Undertake any additional duties requested by Head of Performance Enhancement and Talent Identification

Experience and Qualifications

Degree in Sports Science or related field
Experience in match analysis
Experience in movement analysis (e.g with Vicon, Kistler, SimiMotion, …)
Fluent in English


PHYSIOLOGIST

Responsibilities:

Carry out physiological diagnosis for all Sports of the Academy.
Give advice to the coaches in case of training strategies and performance enhancement for each individual athlete.
Assume the physiological part in the field of talent screening.
Assume the physiological part in teaching the Academy´s students.
Ensures the cooperation with the other Sports Department Sections/Units and the other Academy Departments.
Participates in the perspective recruitment of additional physiological staff.
Develops an ongoing strategy for the physiological section.
Ensures that he is constantly abreast of the latest international knowledge.
Submits periodic reports to the Head of Talent ID/Physiology.
Assumes all authorities outlined in the authorities schedules.
Undertakes any special studies and duties requested by the Head of Talent ID/Physiology.

Experience and Qualifications

Diploma in Sports Science – main topic physiology in sports – and/or diploma in physiology.
International publications.
Coaches Licence(s)
6 years in high performance sports
In the field of youth performance sports.
In team sports and individual sports.
Practical experiences in topics like: spiroergometry, lactate measuring, creatinekinase measuring, urea measuring, blood analysis, hormone analysis.
Teaching experiences.
Coaches experiences in high performance youth sports
Fluent in English, Arabic is a plus.

Application & Contact: If you wish to apply for the above vacancies, please send your application and CV in English, indicating the position applied for, to: hradmin@aspire.qa . Earliest application is an advantage.

SUKMA, Teka-Teki atau Pantun yang tak berangkap.

Terengganu 2008 menyaksikan penjelmaan kembali edisi baru Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA). Edisi sahaja menjanjikan pembaharuan, ditambah dengan perbelanjaaan yang meningkat namun permasalahan asas masih wujud.

Kelmarin Datuk Setiausaha Majlis Olimpik Malaysia menegur kepesongan pengelola SUKMA, kononnya mereka kini membelakangkan pencungkilan bakat baru dengan membenarkan penyertaan minima atlet muda kebangsaan.

Saya meminta maaf awal-awal lagi kepada pembaca jika disangka saya akan berpegang kepada agenda pembangunan yang ditunjangi ramai. Secara peribadi saya kurang senang SUKMA dijadikan kejohanan kelas kedua. Dah nama pun Sukan Malaysia, bukankah ia seharusnya membariskan atlet-atlet yang bersaing untuk keunggulan peribadi dan kejaguhan di peringkat Kebangsaan. Jika kecemerlangan digapai atlet remaja dalam suasana cabaran terbuka, SYABAS saya ucapkan – yang itu sememangnya permata.

Tepuk dada Tanya selera, tiadakah kejohanan peringkat umur 12, 14, 16, 18 dan 20 untuk setiap sukan? Sebagai contoh kita lihat situasi olahraga - badan kebangsaan MAAU menganjurkan Kejohanan Remaja Kebangsaan, Majlis Sukan Sekolah-Sekolah Malaysia (MSSM) juga menganjurkan kejohanan diperingkat kebangsaan. Ditambah lagi kejohanan-kejohanan serantau, antara sekolah ASEAN, Universiti ASEAN dan Dunia. Bagaimana pula dengan kejohanan – kejohanan diperingkat zon, daerah, negeri dan jemputan. Adakah perlu SUKMA dijulang sebagai medan mutlak melahirkan atlet baru, atau ia semata-mata untuk menutup kepincangan dan ketidak berkesanan kejohanan-kejohanan yang disebut diatas.

Secara jujur, pernahkah kita terkejut dengan nama-nama yang timbul mengungguli edisi-edisi SUKMA yang lepas? Mungkin aturannya berbeda, tetapi pokoknya atlet-atlet yang bakal menerajui kelompok atasan acara sukan telah lama kita senaraikan. Bukannya kita tiba-tiba mempunyai bakat Nostradamus untuk menilik siapa yang bakal menang, tetapi fakta yang barisan bakat yang dikenalpasti selalunya memenangi acara mereka menunjukkan bahawa SUKMA bukanlah medan pembangunan atau mencungkil bakat yang mutlak. Ia telah lama tercapai melalui kejohanan-kejohanan yang disebut diatas.

Jadi di mana arah tuju SUKMA yang sebenar? Bagi saya SUKMA mempunyai potensi besar menjana kecemerlangan sukan Negara jika ianya dibiarkan menjadi medan persaingan atlet terbaik Negara yang mewakili negeri masing-masing. Ia bukan sahaja dapat menunjangi kegemilangan sukan tetapi mewujudkan budaya sukan yang berlandaskan kecermerlangan di sepelusuk Negara serta membawa penglibatan aktif sektor swasta dalam pembangunan jangka panjang sukan Negara.
Jika di perinci secara halus, di manakah hilangnya permata-permata yang kita gilap dalam kejohanan-kejohanan remaja selepas alam persekolahan dan universiti. Hanya secebisan kecil atlet yang meneruskan perjuangan menjalani latihan dan bertanding di peringkat senior, itu pun yang berpusat dan menerima elaun latihan dibawah MSN. Ratusan malah ribuan lagi menghilang disebabkan void yang ditinggalkan dalam program sukan Negara.

Ia, saya membicarakan konteks retention vs development (pembangunan). Juara sesuatu acara di peringkat remaja tidak semestinya memenangi acara tersebut di peringkat senior atau dunia. Kebanyakan juara di peringkat senior dalam acara-acara individu merupakan late bloomers. Jadi seseorang yang mendapat rangking kelima dalam kejohanan-kejohanan remaja kebangsaan berkemungkinan akan berjaya memenangi acara senior beberapa tahun kelak. Namun isu perancangan kewangan tidak membolehkan golongan persisiran ini diserap dalam program kebangsaan.

Jadi kemana arah tuju mereka? Dan apakah peranan agensi kerajaan berkaitan dalam merangka polisi yang membolehkan mekanisme retention ini berlaku tanpa membelanjakan wang pembayar cukai.

Adakah membenarkan SUKMA menjadi medan dimana atlet terbaik Negara berjuang tanpa batasan umur akan mewujudkan outlet baru untuk atlet-atlet persisiran meneruskan perjuangan mereka? atau

Adakah majikan atlet-atlet persisiran ini turut akan serta dalam menggalakkan penglibatan mereka, disebabkan advertisement - branding milage yang bakal dibawa dengan penyertaan staf mereka di Kejohanan ulung di Negara? Yang boleh mewujudkan ombak dalam minat bersukan dikalangan warga Malaysia.

Dan Adakah kebanjiran atlet persisiran yang ramai dan masih bergiat aktif menggalakkan program-program remaja sedia ada, mencapai nafas baru melalui penganjuran yang mapan dan kualiti penyertaan yang baik? Atau

Adakah rakyat Malaysia akan bising jika seorang atlet persisiran yang tidak dibawah program kecemerlangan MSN menggantikkan (katakan Norseela) yang mengalami kecederaan sebelum sukan SEA, tetapi mampu kembali dengan pingat? Atau

Perlukah lepas ini MSN menghantar atlet elit mereka keluar Negara gara-gara atlet remaja yang berkuasa kuda 200hp gagal memberikan saingan kepada kuda-kuda 500hp, Jika kita sendiri mempunyai ratusan 500hp dalam bentuk atlet persisiran?


Renungkan lah!

A Kick Start!!

Walk your talk! the very thought lingers in the minds of many when a sports officer or (I know best -politician) talks about getting the sciences across to the masses.

Hey! We did exactly that. On the 16-18 May 2008 at Cheras Badminton Stadium. A magnanimous number of 1500 young Karate-kas participated in the 9th Malaysian Schools Karate Championship, organised by Hayashi-Ha Karate Association of Malaysia with the endorsement of Malaysian Karate-Do Federation (MAKAF). The tournament a brainchild and fruit of Mr. P.Thiagu's labour also saw participation of Singapore and Indonesia adding to that of various states in Malaysia.

What exactly we do? Nothing much .... just manning a booth that measures kick and punch speed of those interested and comparing them to that of the National Elites and Juniors standard. We used a simple user friendly two dimensional software - SiliconCOACH Pro to analyse kick and punch speed and gave the results in a photo format as seen above. Coolll Ahh!! Too bad it was the Singaporeans whom flocked the booth throwing us with tones of questions; and you wonder what you have to do to get our ayah and ibu interested. Hey!! It wasn't too bad. Many curious local "GrandMasters" whom attended the tournament thought its a brilliant idea and wanted their kids to be tested in closed dojo environments. As to not to reveal the weaknesses of their teaching!! Hahahaha, just kidding there.

End of the day we (me and Faisal) headed home jaded and fuzzy but filled with satisfaction of achieving the following or sending these messages across STRONGLY to the local coaches and parents:

1. Sports Karate is not about kicking or punch to kill a person, pain is not a measure, so the force that is transferred to the other person upon contact is not the measure in awarding a point. In fact you have to avoid having much contact as it only increases your contact time which increases your overall punch time. The Que is Punch and Recover as quick as possible.
2. Unlike Taekwando and Boxing that achieves maximal velocity prior to contact with the sole purpose of achieving maximal force; In Karate we have acceleration, maximal velocity and deceleration. This is due to the very fact that we need to pull back (recover) in executing a punch and avoid excessive contact as part of the requirement to be awarded a point . The timing of these sequence in Karate is essential as to not loose potential scoring time. An elite Karate-ka could go in punch and recover within 0.3 seconds (R.Puvaneswaran, Lim Yoke Wai and G.Yamini). These particular difference in Sports Karate is all due to change of rule book and its scoring requirements.
3. So one must understand that these variation that is seen in Sports Karate involves the functionality of different group of muscles and its working order. As per such coaches, athletes and even parents have to be aware of training methodology and conditioning method that is systematically structured to reach the target.

Finally it was a good weekend barred the tiredness as we manage to create a ripple with a wish that it would one day transform itself to become tide if not tsunami. Not forgetting the tonic in which we had in the form of encouragement and interest shown by athletes, parents and coaches throughout the tournament.